I'd love to know if the sales prices had anything to do with type in traffic, or just the popularity/branding value of these travel terms. Or both?
Do you think these names get a lot of natural traffic?
To be honest with you, I think many of these sales are made on a basis of just throwing a number out there.
Not in a completely haphazard sense, of course. It's illogical to offer $1,000 because they'll be told to screw off. And it's illogical to offer $500,000, since neither of these names are worth that.
So, a suitable in-between is in order which is low enough to make it a deal, and high enough that
a) it's profitable for the seller
and
b) it's profitable enough that it's not worth "screwing around" with to perhaps lose the deal
The reality is, the buyer knew they would be paying $xx,xxx each anyway. So, making a realistic offer without relying on a saga of offer/counter-offer prevents things from getting out of hand, while ensuring a lucrative deal for the seller.
I think the numbers were very well chosen. It works out to $62,000 - which after brokerage fees (assuming about 3%) comes out to $60,000 even.
A year's salary for many. A tidy take-home for a couple of two word domains!